SPORTS

SEC Decides Not To Admit Texas A&M

It appears that Mike Sherman (left) and Texas A&M will be staying in the Big 12 after all. (AP Image)

News9.com

ATLANTA, Georgia – Chancellors and presidents of schools in the SEC met Sunday to discuss expansion, but the conference issued a statement saying it has decided to remain at 12 teams for now.

This comes after days of reports saying that Texas A&M was in the process of leaving the Big 12 for the SEC and that a series of meetings could make the union official by Monday. The Aggies stopped hiding their desire to switch conferences, but it seems the feelings were not reciprocated.

"The SEC Presidents and Chancellors met today and reaffirmed our satisfaction with the present 12 institution alignment," the SEC's statement read. "We recognize, however, that future conditions may make it advantageous to expand the number of institutions in the league. We discussed criteria and process associated with expansion. No action was taken with respect to any institution including Texas A&M."

It was widely reported that if Texas A&M joined the SEC, the conference would need to add at least one more school to keep the number of associated institutions even. Possible schools mentioned for that other spot included Florida State, Clemson, Missouri and Virginia Tech.

Other reports said schools already in the SEC did not wish to allow other schools in their state into the conference. That would have ruled out both Florida State and Clemson, so it is possible that the conference was unable to find another school to add alongside Texas A&M.

The Aggies also would have been forced to break their contract with the Big 12 if they left, so possible legal ramifications could also have put a damper on the move.

Whatever the reason, Texas A&M will need to return to the Big 12. The second part of the SEC's statement leaves the possibility open for future expansion, which still could include the Aggies. But for now, the Big 12 will remain intact with 10 members.